How to Make ChatGPT Sound Less Robotic - Practical Tips for Small Businesses

As small businesses explore the opportunities presented by AI tools like ChatGPT, many are finding ways to enhance their content creation processes - from drafting emails, to social media captions and right the way through to blog posts.

However, the challenge lies in ensuring that the output not only meets their needs but also captures their distinct brand voice (or in short, doesn't sound like a robot!).

This blog post provides practical tips, specifically for small businesses, to effectively utilise AI while preserving both authenticity and engagement.

Dominic, owner of Wakeford Digital, shares: “While the emergence of AI can feel daunting for some, it also presents exciting opportunities for others."

"At Wakeford Digital, it's no surprise that we embrace AI for its efficiencies, but we remain cautious about elements such as factual inaccuracies and robotic sounding content."

"With this in mind, it’s essential to find a balance between leveraging AI's capabilities and ensuring that our content stands out in a competitive marketplace.”

Key Takeaways

• AI is a useful tool for small businesses, but it needs to be used correctly to be beneficial.
• With more adoption of AI in business, standing out from the crowd can become difficult.
• Proper prompting and strategies, such as defining your brand voice, can help distinguish robotic content.

The benefits of using AI for Small Businesses

Before diving in, we think it's important to briefly explore why AI has become a necessity in business for 2025 and beyond.

AI can be a huge change for small businesses, offering numerous advantages that can help them thrive in a competitive marketplace.

Here are some key benefits of using AI for small businesses in Hobart:

• Increased Efficiency: AI tools can automate repetitive tasks, allowing business owners to focus on strategic initiatives and customer engagement.
• Cost-Effective Solutions: By streamlining processes, AI can reduce operational costs, making it easier for small businesses to allocate resources effectively.
• Enhanced Customer Insights: AI can analyse customer data to provide valuable insights, helping businesses tailor their offerings to meet customer needs.
• Improved Content Creation: AI can assist in generating high-quality content quickly, enabling businesses to maintain a consistent online presence.

Some examples of how businesses are using AI include: writing proposals, generating blog content, social media posts, drafting and refining emails and much more.

How are we using AI here at Wakeford Digital?

While we've actually been exploring a different route recently (more to come soon!), we still actively use ChatGPT for many applications such as those listed above.

As a business using AI in Hobart however, we're all too familiar with the sometimes frustrating outputs that ChatGPT can generate (... in today's competitive landscape, anyone?).

The downside of using AI platforms like ChatGPT....

As small businesses increasingly adopt AI tools like ChatGPT for content creation, the challenge of maintaining a unique brand voice becomes more pronounced.

While AI can generate text quickly and efficiently, it often lacks the personal touch that resonates with audiences.

This is particularly important in a competitive marketplace where standing out is crucial.

Some common examples we see of this are: 

• a very clearly AI written blog post, that doesn't have any inflections or personal anecdotes
• Meta social media adverts for Hobart businesses that are littered with emojis and follow a clickbait formula
• blog content that starts with 'in such-such landscape' or similar

With this in mind, let's dive in to some practical tips that can help small businesses in Hobart and beyond make their AI-generated content feel more human and engaging.

By implementing these strategies, you can ensure that your content not only meets your business needs but also reflects your brand's personality and values.

5 tips to make ChatGPT content sound less robotic

Our five tips to make ChatGPT sound less robotic and stand out from your competition include:

1. Define your brand voice before you begin
2. Provide examples of previous content
3. Refine the outputs ChatGPT gives you
4. Incorporate personal insights and
5. Engage in active review

Tip 1. Define your brand voice before you begin

Before generating content with ChatGPT, a huge opportunity to help avoid robotic content is to actually start by defining your brand voice.

Literally - this means tell ChatGPT who you are, what tone it should use, whether it should be informative, fun, educational etc. etc.

As Dominic suggests, “One of the first steps in using ChatGPT effectively is to clearly communicate your brand voice."

"If your brand is educational and informative, make that clear. For instance, if emojis don't align with your tone, let the AI know.”

This is such an easy step that can set the stage for more authentic and engaging content.

Here are some tips to help you define your brand voice:

• Create a Brand Voice Guide: Document the key characteristics of your brand voice, including tone, style, and preferred language. You can then use the same chat for future tasks, or copy and paste this guide in each time you want to use it.
• Use Descriptive Words: Identify adjectives that describe your brand (e.g., friendly, professional, quirky) to guide your content creation.

By clearly defining your brand voice, you can ensure that the AI-generated content aligns with your overall messaging strategy.

2. Provide examples of previous content

A great way to guide ChatGPT is by providing it with examples of your previous successful content.

Dominic shares, “If you have written an example social media post that resonated with your audience, give this to ChatGPT along with two or three other examples. This practice helps the AI understand the nuances of your brand's tone and style, leading to more relevant outputs.”

By doing this, you can significantly improve the quality of the content generated. Consider these strategies:

• Curate a Portfolio: Collect examples of your best-performing content to share with the AI.
• Highlight Key Elements: Point out specific phrases or styles in your examples that you want the AI to emulate.

Providing examples not only enhances the quality of the output but also helps maintain consistency across your content.

3. Refine the outputs ChatGPT gives you

AI-generated content is not a final product; it’s a starting point.

As Dominic points out, “It’s essential not to settle for the first draft that ChatGPT provides. While AI can save time, it’s not a silver bullet."

"Take the time to edit and refine the output. We even advocate for breaking sections down - for example just focus on refining the introduction, then the body, then the outro or conclusion.”

This could involve adjusting the language, tone, or even the structure of the content. Here’s how to refine your outputs effectively:

• Review Line by Line: Go through the content carefully, making notes on areas that need improvement.
• Provide Feedback to AI: If a line doesn’t resonate with your brand, rewrite it and instruct ChatGPT to maintain that tone throughout the rest of the content.

By actively engaging in the editing process, you can transform robotic text into a more relatable and humanised narrative.

4. Incorporate personal insights

To further distinguish your content, consider adding personal insights, anecdotes, or relevant data.

Dominic notes, “Adding personal insights can significantly enhance the quality of AI-generated content. Spend some time actually working through and add in some human insight.”

This could involve sharing anecdotes, relevant statistics, or local information that enriches the content.

Here are some ways to incorporate personal insights:

• Share Your Story: Include anecdotes from your business journey that relate to the content topic.
• Use Local Data: Incorporate statistics or information that is relevant to your local audience to make the content more relatable.

By adding personal insights, you can create a more engaging and authentic narrative that resonates with your audience.

5. Engage in active review

Finally, don’t underestimate the power of a thorough review.

Dominic highlights the importance of “reading your content out loud and infusing your own voice into the text.”

This step allows you to identify areas that may need tweaking and ensures that the final output sounds like it came from your brand, not a machine.

Here’s how to engage in an active review:

• Read Aloud: Hearing the content can help you catch awkward phrasing or areas that don’t flow well.
• Make Subtle Changes: Infuse your personality into the text by rephrasing certain lines or adding nuances that reflect your voice.

By taking the time to review and refine your content, you can ensure that it aligns with your brand identity and resonates with your audience.

In Conclusion

Incorporating AI into your content creation process can be a powerful tool for businesses in Hobart, but it’s essential to maintain your brand’s unique voice and personality.

By defining your brand voice, providing examples, refining outputs, incorporating personal insights, and reviewing your content, you can create engaging and authentic material that resonates with your audience.

At Wakeford Digital, we’re committed to helping businesses navigate the world of AI while ensuring that their content remains distinctly human. Embrace these strategies to elevate your AI-generated content and stand out... in the digital landscape (see what we did there?).